Cardiac surgery practice during the COVID-19 outbreak: a multicentre national survey.

OBJECTIVES: Healthcare systems worldwide have been overburdened by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Accordingly, hospitals had to implement strategies to profoundly reshape both non-COVID-19 medical care and surgical activities. Knowledge about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiac surgery practice is pivotal. The goal of the present study was to describe the changes in cardiac surgery practices during the health emergency at the national level. METHODS: A 26-question web-enabled survey including all adult cardiac surgery units in Italy was conducted to assess how their clinical practice changed during the national lockdown. Data were compared to data from the corresponding period in 2019. RESULTS: All but 2 centres (94.9%) adopted specific protocols to screen patients and personnel. A significant reduction in the number of dedicated cardiac intensive care unit beds (-35.4%) and operating rooms (-29.2%), along with healthcare personnel reallocation to COVID departments (nurses -15.4%, anaesthesiologists -7.7%), was noted. Overall adult cardiac surgery volumes were dramatically reduced (1734 procedures vs 3447; P < 0.001), with a significant drop in elective procedures [580 (33.4%) vs 2420 (70.2%)]. CONCLUSIONS: This national survey found major changes in cardiac surgery practice as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This experience should lead to the development of permanent systems-based plans to face possible future pandemics. These data may effectively help policy decision-making in prioritizing healthcare resource reallocation during the ongoing pandemic and once the healthcare emergency is over.

Cardiac surgery practice during the COVID-19 outbreak: a regionwide survey.

BACKGROUND: Health systems worldwide have been overburdened by the "COVID-19 surge". Consequently, strategies to remodulate non-COVID medical and surgical care had to be developed. Knowledge of the impact of COVID surge on cardiac surgery practice is mainstem. Present study aims to evaluate the regional practice pattern during lockdown in Campania. METHODS: A multicenter regional observational 26-question survey was conducted, including all adult cardiac surgery units in Campania, Italy, to assess how surgical practice has changed during COVID-19 national lockdown. RESULTS: All centers adopted specific protocols for screening patients and personnel. A significant reduction in the number of dedicated intensive care unit (ICU) beds (-30.0%±38.1%, range: 0-100%) and cardiac operating rooms (-22.2%±26.4%, range: 0-50%) along with personnel relocation to other departments was disclosed (anesthesiologists -5.8%±11.1%, range: 0-33.3%; perfusionists -5.6%±16.7%, range: 0-50%; nurses -4.8%±13.2%, range: 0-40%; cardiologists -3.2%±9.5%, range: 0-28.6%). Cardiac surgeons were never reallocated to other services. Globally, we witnessed dramatically lower adult cardiac surgery case volumes (335 vs. 667 procedures, P<0.001), as institutions and surgeons followed guidelines to curtail non-urgent operations. CONCLUSIONS: This regional survey demonstrates major changes in practice as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this respect, this experience might lead to the development of permanent systems-based plans for future pandemic and may effectively help policy decision making when prioritizing healthcare resource reallocation during and after the pandemic.

Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the care of patients with acute and chronic aortic conditions.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on acute and elective thoracic and abdominal aortic procedures. METHODS: Forty departments shared their data on acute and elective thoracic and abdominal aortic procedures between January and May 2020 and January and May 2019 in Europe, Asia and the USA. Admission rates as well as delay from onset of symptoms to referral were compared. RESULTS: No differences in the number of acute thoracic and abdominal aortic procedures were observed between 2020 and the reference period in 2019 [incidence rates ratio (IRR): 0.96, confidence interval (CI) 0.89-1.04; P = 0.39]. Also, no difference in the time interval from acute onset of symptoms to referral was recorded (<12 h 32% vs > 12 h 68% in 2020, < 12 h 34% vs > 12 h 66% in 2019 P = 0.29). Conversely, a decline of 35% in elective procedures was seen (IRR: 0.81, CI 0.76-0.87; P < 0.001) with substantial differences between countries and the most pronounced decline in Italy (-40%, P < 0.001). Interestingly, in Switzerland, an increase in the number of elective cases was observed (+35%, P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: There was no change in the number of acute thoracic and abdominal aortic cases and procedures during the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas the case load of elective operations and procedures decreased significantly. Patients with acute aortic syndromes presented despite COVID-19 and were managed according to current guidelines. Further analysis is required to prove that deferral of elective cases had no impact on premature mortality.

Atherosclerosis as Pathogenetic Substrate for Sars-Cov2 Cytokine Storm.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (Sars-CoV-2) outbreak is a public health emergency affecting different regions around the world. The lungs are often damaged due to the presence of Sars-CoV-2 binding receptor ACE2 on epithelial alveolar cells. Severity of infection varies from complete absence of symptomatology to more aggressive symptoms, characterized by sudden acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), multiorgan failure, and sepsis, requiring treatment in intensive care unit (ICU). It is not still clear why the immune system is not able to efficiently suppress viral replication in a small percentage of patients. It has been documented as pathological conditions affecting the cardiovascular system, strongly associated to atherosclerotic progression, such as heart failure (HF), coronary heart disease (CHD), hypertension (HTN) and diabetes mellitus (DM), could serve as predictive factors for severity and susceptibility during Sars-CoV-2 infection. Atherosclerotic progression, as a chronic inflammation process, is characterized by immune system dysregulation leading to pro-inflammatory patterns, including interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and IL-1ß. Reviewing immune system and inflammation profiles in atherosclerosis and laboratory results reported in severe COVID-19 infections, we hypothesized a pathogenetic correlation. Atherosclerosis may be an ideal pathogenetic substrate for high viral replication ability, leading to adverse outcomes, as reported in patients with cardiovascular factors. The level of atherosclerotic progression may affect a different degree of severe infection; in a vicious circle, feeding itself, Sars-CoV-2 may exacerbate atherosclerotic evolution due to excessive and aberrant plasmatic concentration of cytokines.